This type of coffin can be said to be of topical interest in present times. In keeping with the growing demands for a protected environment, burial coffins will preferably be manufactured from an environmentally friendly material which will decompose naturally in the ground or which can be incinerated without detriment to the environment. At the same time, tradition requires the coffin to carry ornamentation and internal decorations which are made from environmentally unsuitable materials and therefore in conflict with the aforesaid. An environmentally inner casket which is lowered from a ceremonial outer casket into an earthen grave at the time of burial or from which the outer casket is lifted prior to cremation is therefore an attractive solution to the problem. Earlier known constructions have primarily been directed to reducing costs in conjunction with burials. Prior patent publications U.S. Pat. No. 1,065,579 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,818 disclose examples of earlier coffin constructions. The use of these known coffins has been restricted in practice. Probably, this is because it has been considered necessary to give the ceremonial caskets a box-like shape of exaggerated width, therewith departing too far from the design that conventional piety demands.